Genesis 19 – Resisting The Temptation To Look Back

 The two angels (that left Abraham in Genesis 18) came to Sodom in the evening. Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When he saw them, he went to meet them and bowed himself with his face toward the ground (similar to Abraham’s actions). Lot offered to let the “men” spend the night at his house and to have the chance to wash their feet. They could rise early the next morning and be on their way. At first, the men rejected Lot’s offer saying that they would spend the night in the open square. However, Lot insisted and they finally agreed to stay at his house. Lot made them a feast and baked unleavened bread. Showing generous hospitality must run in the family. Lot’s actions are similar to his Uncle Abraham’s actions in Genesis 18.

Before they laid down for the night, the men of Sodom, young and old, and all the people from every quarter, surrounded the house. They asked Lot about the men who came to his house because they wanted to have sex with them. Lot went out to them and shut the door behind him. Lot pleaded with the men not to be so wicked. Instead, he offered up his two virgin daughters to them to do whatever they wanted, but insisted that they not do anything to the men since they were under his roof for protection. The men told Lot to “stand back” and accused him of acting like their judge. They threatened to do worse to him than to the men in his house, so much so that they pressed hard against Lot and almost broke down the door. The two men (angels) grabbed Lot and pulled him into the house and shut the door. Then they struck the men who were at the doorway, small and great, with blindness so that they became weary trying to find the door.

The men asked Lot if he had any other family in the city. They advised Lot to take his family (sons-in-law, sons, daughters or whomever) out of the city because they were going to destroy Sodom. The outcry against them had grown great before the face of the Lord and He sent them to destroy the city. Lot went to his sons-in-law and told them to get out of the city because it was going to be destroyed, but they thought Lot was joking. Was Lot just a “girls’ dad”? There’s no mention of sons, but sons-in-law are mentioned.

When morning came, the angels urged Lot to hurry and leave with his wife and two daughters or they might be consumed in the punishment of the city. Lot was taking his time, so the angels grabbed him, his wife and daughters by the hands, due to God’s mercy, and set them outside the city. Has God ever warned you to get out of a situation, but you moved too slowly and God in His great mercy brought you out anyway? The angels told them to escape for their lives and not to look behind them or stay anywhere in the plain. They told them to escape to the mountains so they won’t be destroyed. Though grateful for the angels saving his life, Lot didn’t want to go to the mountains because he feared some evil would overtake him and he would die. Lot was taking his time leaving Sodom with imminent destruction threatening, but yet he was afraid to escape into the mountains. Sometimes we stay in situations in which we are comfortable no matter how bad they are for us, because we’re afraid of what we may have to endure if we leave. Lot stated that he would rather go to a nearby little city and there his soul shall live. He was granted favor and allowed to go to the little city and it would be protected. He was told to hurry up and escape there because nothing could be done until they got to the city. The name of the city was Zoar, which is the small city in Warring Nations (Genesis 14) for which the king’s name was not given because the city was small, therefore, the king wasn’t considered important. When Lot entered Zoar, the sun had risen already. The Lord rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah. He overthrew those cities, all the plain, the inhabitants thereof, and even what grew on the ground. During their escape, Lot’s wife looked back (after being instructed not to do that) and became a pillar of salt. I used to always think that Lot’s wife looked back because of the material things and the life of luxury they were leaving behind in Sodom. Now, I also think that she may have looked back because she was leaving her daughters and possibly grandchildren along with sons-in-law in Sodom. Assuming that Lot and his wife were also a couple with great communication skills, he probably told her that the sons-in-law thought he was joking about Sodom being destroyed by the Lord. How many mothers would have to resist the temptation of looking back knowing that you were leaving your children and grandchildren behind to be destroyed? Even Lot could have been procrastinating because of the thought of leaving his daughters there. Regardless of the reason, she looked back and paid the price of losing her life because of disobedience.

Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he stood before the Lord (the place of the negotiations). He looked toward Sodom, Gomorrah and all the plain and saw the smoke of the land was similar to the smoke of a furnace. At that point, I guess Abraham realized that there weren’t even ten righteous men in Sodom. When God destroyed the cities of the plain, He remembered Abraham and sent Lot out before the destruction started. Have you ever been blessed by God because He remembered those prayers your parents, grandparents or someone else made on your behalf? God remembered them and you were blessed. Oh, yes! Somebody prayed for me! Is there someone in your life that will be blessed because God remembers you?

Lot and his two virgin daughters leave Zoar because he didn’t feel safe there and dwelt in the mountains in a cave. Isn’t that where he was initially told to go? Has God ever told you to do one thing, but you wanted to do your own thing and you ended up right where God told you initially?

The older daughter convinced the younger one that they should get their father drunk and have sex with him to preserve his lineage. Remember, the rest of the family (their sisters, brothers-in-law, possibly nieces and nephews and mother) was dead. Also, these two are virgins. They got Lot so drunk twice that he did not know that his virgin daughters had sex with him – the oldest daughter first on one night and the youngest one the next night. Wow! How drunk is that?! Both daughters got pregnant and had sons. The son of the oldest daughter was named Moab, the father of the Moabites and the son of the youngest daughter was named Ben-Ammi, the father of the people of Ammon. I wonder how Lot felt when he found out that both his daughters were pregnant by him and he had no recollection of it at all.

We move onto Genesis 20 next.

To God Be The Glory!